


So Does Hope

by osmalic



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-01
Updated: 2010-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-22 00:50:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/231828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/osmalic/pseuds/osmalic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared is a florist and Jensen happens to need a bouquet urgently for his boss' wife. Miscommunication ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Does Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nyaubaby](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=nyaubaby).



> For the prompt: _"Jared is a florist and Jensen happens to need a bouquet urgently for his boss's wife."_

It's a normal day in Jared Padalecki's _Padacoy Flower Shop._ By 10am, the only two regulars of his small flower shop have come and gone, and he has an hour before the delivery van arrives for the wedding happening at 3pm. Harley and Sadie—his two large dogs—are sleeping in the sunlight at the converted greenhouse at the back of his store. Jared is wrapping up a simple bouquet for a customer (somehow just had a baby boy).

Then the shop door opens sharply, and in a flash, Harley is shooting past the counter to greet the new customer. The newcomer gives a shout, Jared jumps over the counter to grab his dog's collar, and the current customer beats a hasty retreat as soon as a path clears between her and the door.

"Harley, _down!"_ Jared yells, pulling the excited dog away, pushing him back to the back of the store where Sadie is watching them with a curious but lazy expression. "Bad dog. Oh my god, he never does that. Are you okay? You're not gonna file a suit, right?" Jared whirls around, then feels his jaw drop when his eyes sees the hottest guy lying in the middle of his shop, flowers over his ody, his expression dazed.

"Oh wow," the hot guy says.

Jared leans over him, offering his hand. "You okay, man? You're not gonna sue?" he asks worriedly, fights the urge to run his hands through the other guy's neck, his arms. He notices that there's a stray rose petal on the guy's crotch, and focuses on the guy's eyeglasses instead. Holy _shit_ , he is not going hard in the middle of a business.

Then it gets killed immediately when the hot guy turns to him and announces, "I'm Jensen Ackles and I need a bouquet for my boss's wife to tell her 'I love you.'"

* * *

"Why do a lot of douchebags have to be hot?" Jared asks Genevieve—the girl who owns the bookshop next door—later during their coffee break. "Shouldn't there be a statistical percentage composed of hot guys who're also sweet, sensitive, and great in bed?"

Genevieve responds by saying, "Chad's a douche but he's not hot."

"I'm great in bed, though," Chad leers at her, but takes offense a beat later. "Hey! And I'm hot!" He flexes his muscles and juts out his lips, which only succeeds in making him look ridiculous.

Genevieve rolls her eyes and points to their mugs. "You look ridiculous," she says, echoing Jared's thoughts. "And what's with the service here? We're _paying_ you for the coffee. We still have no coffee, Chad!"

Chad holds up a finger at her but obediently disappears inside the coffee shop to get their orders. He complains everyday how being a barista is an unglamorous job, and that he'd rather bartender, but Jared knows his friend would rather work there and use his pay to get into bars where he'll be treated as a customer and not as an employer.

"So—hot guy, accident, douchebag," Genevieve prompts. "What did he want?"

"He was going to tell his boss's wife that he's in love with her," Jared says. "Seriously, why would you even do that? Why mess up a relationship while she's still with someone else? Shouldn't he be encouraging them to stay together or something?"

Genevieve leans forward, a serious look on her face. "Okay, first of all: you don't know squat about this. What if the wife and the boss tried but they just couldn't do it? Or what if the boss is an asshole? Huh? Or what if they're getting ready for a divorce and the hot guy has been in love with her for a long time? Did you think of that?"

"I just don't feel comfortable with the idea that I might be encouraging a break-up," Jared mutters. "I mean, especially between a husband and wife."

"Screw that," Genevieve exclaims, grinning. "You're just annoyed that the hottest guy walks into your store, and he's not gay."

Jared sighs. It's true; he's never had any qualms about giving his advice before. People have come to his shop to ask for flowers for many different reasons, and many of his customers have opted to open up to him in their efforts in making their flower arrangement special. Jared always tries to reserve his judgments, and he's always tried to be fair. The guy isn't the first person Jared's had a strong physical reaction to, but he's the first customer who's actually bothered Jared's conscience.

"Tell me that you at least gave him a decent box," Genevieve continues.

Jared shrugs. "He wanted a bouquet."

"And?" she prompts.

Jared has a guilty flashback on the delighted gratefulness on the guy's face. "I gave him yellow carnations with some hyacinth. He wouldn't know the meaning of that, right?"

Genevieve shrugs but still looks amused. "I don't know. But the real question is if the boss's wife loves it or not."

Jared thinks about Jensen Ackles' dazed expression, the way he tugged nervously at his sleeve, and the way he pushes his glasses up his nose. _Who wouldn't love **that?** _ he wonders darkly, but only grabs the coffee that Chad presents to him just in time.

* * *

It's three days later when the shop door opens with the clichéd tinkling sound of the bell. Jared looks up quickly, his smile already in place, but he sees Jensen standing at the doorway and heading towards him. "Can I help you?" he asks curtly.

Jensen approaches him with a reserved smile that Jared just wants to lick. "What, no welcoming committee?" he teases.

"Nope, not today," Jared says, injecting some cheerfulness in his voice. He can't help warming when it comes to talk about his dogs, and he's not about to make an exception for Jensen, no matter if he really _is_ a douche. "The two monsters are locked at the back after Harley tried licking one of our customers to death. Sorry about a few days ago."

Jensen nods, smiling. "It's fine, I like dogs anyway," he says, ducking his head in an obvious bashful manner and Jesus _Christ,_ this guy is all of Jared's kinks rolled in one. It's not fucking fair that he's strictly off-limits.

Jared clears his throat and surreptitiously tries to move behind the counter. "So, you need another bouquet?" he finally asks, busying himself sprinkling water over the magnolias on display. "I can do another arrangement for you, if you tell me what kind of flowers you want."

Jensen fidgets for a moment, then he blurts out, "I looked it up. What the flowers meant." He looks so earnest that, for a moment, Jared only stares at him.

"Um, yeah," Jared says uncomfortably. Normally, this is the part where he starts flirting with Jensen, telling him that if he wanted to know more about flowers, he can come in anytime and ask Jared. Still, it's awkward knowing that the guy Jared wants to flirt with knows that Jared is kind of judging him for wanting to get into his boss's wife's panties. "It's just pretty, you know. It's not supposed to mean anything. Don't take it into heart."

"Carnations are varied, but they mostly say that yellow indicates rejection and disappointment," Jensen says, "and sometimes friendship. And the yellow hyacinth? Nice touch."

Despite himself, Jared is impressed. "You really looked it up, didn't you?" he asked, not helping the grin forming on his face. "You went through an awful lot of trouble learning all that."

"It's kind of my business," Jensen tells him, then ducks a bit bashfully. "Also, it's my job on the line, you know? My boss's wife...let's just say she can be overbearing. Good thing she didn't notice the flower meanings."

 _But you're in love with her,_ Jared thinks, noting the blush staining Jensen's cheeks. "So what brings you back here?" he asks Jensen. He moves away, checking the leaves on the different roses. He's just finished arranging a big-ass bouquet for a local charity, and the delivery van _still_ hasn't arrived.

Jensen fidgets again, looking around the shop, before he asks, "You work here by yourself?"

"Yeah," Jared says, shrugging. "I used to have a business partner, but Sandy—Sandy McCoy—"

"—ah, the '-coy' of your shop," Jensen muses.

"Uh, yeah," Jared says, pleased that Jensen has thought about it. "She moved to LA with her boyfriend so I bought her share of the business. I'm currently managing it by myself."

"How do you handle big events?" Jensen asks. "Weddings, galas, those sorts of things?"

Jared grins. "Right now, I make sure that I can't bite off more than I can chew," he tells Jensen. "I hate disappointing my clients, you know? But I hardly turn down weddings. I love them. Sometimes, Genevieve—that's the girl who owns the bookshop next door—comes by and helps me with the arrangement, but I like staying up and envisioning it."

Jensen nods. "Didn't you do a wedding arrangement a few days back?" he asks.

Jared is instantly suspicious. "How did you know...?"

Jensen looks apologetic, explaining, "I work for an events management team. We were the ones handling the reception of the wedding, since the family wanted to arrange the wedding itself. I recognized the logo on the card and I asked."

"Okay," Jared says, trying to ignore the fluttering in his stomach, the one that's already celebrating, _He recognized my store's logo!_ "The great thing about being in the actual flower shop business is that I get to talk to a lot of the customers about what they want. Most people come in without knowing what they want, so I get a feel of what they want and what they can actually get. It's different from a pre-arranged package that many online florists deal with."

Jensen nods. "Yeah, I see what you mean." He hesitates, rolls his shoulders back as if bracing himself, then goes on, "Listen, I said that I work for an events management team, right? We're a small company, but we're expanding our business to social events like weddings."

Jared laughs. "Don't you usually start out with those, first?"

Jensen looks sheepish, scratching his head. "Yeah, but all the members of company used to work for a corporate, so we started with corporate events. You know: charities, holiday parties, CEO's birthdays—there was never a real need to get a dedicated florist. We usually got some flowers delivered and one of the team does an arrangement based on some online pictures. We got by so far."

"Wait," Jared interrupts, running it in his head. "You're asking me to be your dedicated florist?"

Jensen looks him in the eye. The bashful look in his eyes seems to have been replaced by a determined look. "I've seen your work," Jensen tells him directly. "The arrangement you've done for Jeff and Katherine's wedding highlights their relationship, and I've heard a lot of good things about you within the business. But more importantly, you deliver on time and you meet your clients' specifications. If you agree to do business with us, you'll be coming along as a team member. You'll have equal say on the decisions, and you'll have other members of the team working with you to meet our clients' needs."

"So wait," Jared says cautiously, "you're not going to buy my business, right?"

Jensen grins. "No way. It's just—well, okay, to tell you the truth, we used to go to one flower shop before—a friend of my boss, but when we wanted to expand the business, they didn't want the extra load, and didn't want to hire some of our people who knows some things about floral arrangement."

"How big of a load is this 'extra load'?" Jared asks.

Jensen shrugs. "Minimum of four jobs a week, depending on the scale of the event. We still do a lot of social functions for companies, and we have regular clients where floral arrangements are going to be needed. Do you have a lot of regulars?"

Jared shrugs. He's had the business for years, but he's never been dedicated to only one company before. That was always Sandy's thing—she had visions of expanding the business back when they first opened, but Jared had always liked staying in his corner of this street. "I get hired to do some weddings, funerals, parties, those sorts of things, but I get by through word of mouth."

"Okay," Jensen says, nodding. He looks around. "So, would you think about it? I'd like to hear your answer by the end of this week, so if it's okay, I'll call then?"

"Sure," Jared says, opening one of the drawers to grab a card. "Here, the number's there and...okay, here's my personal number." He scribbles it at the back of the card.

There's a delighted look on Jensen's face as he takes it. "Thanks," he says. "I'll call you...and, you know, it's no pressure if you ever..."

"Yeah." Jared watches as Jensen's face turns red again. "I'll think about working for you—"

"Oh, you won't!" Jensen assures him quickly. "You'll be working _with_ me, not _for_ me. Don't worry if it's—"

"I meant for your _company,"_ Jared tells him, smiling when Jensen's face turns redder.

"Um. Yeah, of course that's what you meant, I mean..." Jensen fumbles with his glasses and turns to go, then quickly turns back. "Hey, um. So I need another bouquet. For my boss's wife?"

The easy atmosphere between them disappears immediately and Jared wants to stomp on some roses at the back to ease some of his bad temper. "Yeah, sure," he says woodenly. "Do you have an arrangement in mind? Something to say to her?"

Jensen gives him a smile. "I want something that says that she was right all along."

So Jared gives him a small bouquet of amaryllis accompanied by a couple of bluebells and accented by pitta—to show pride and humility: the woman Jared has never met and this gorgeous, quiet guy begging for a chance. It's expensive as hell, but Jensen pays it without blinking. Anyway, Jared has a feeling that the boss's wife isn't going to be looking at the flowers, anyway. Not when she has _Jensen._

* * *

Jared talks to his lawyer as soon as Jensen faxes the details to him. Kripke asks for some clarifications, which means Jensen is calling Jared a lot and hamming down some of the details, but overall, Kripke seems to think that it might be good for his business.

By the end of the week, Jared closes early and hangs around Genevieve's shop, since she usually closes a few hours after his does. "So he's _not_ a douche," Genevieve clarifies.

"Except for the part where he's smitten with his boss's wife," Jared says.

"That's not being douchey," Genevieve tells him, rolling her eyes.

"I don't really get it," Jared tells her, blowing a frustrated breath. "Jensen talks about his boss like they're really close friends, so how can he still be trying to get into his boss's wife's pants? Or panties? Whatever, tell me that's not douchey at all."

"You're panicking again," Genevieve points out.

The door opens and Chad stumbles in, holding two orders of their favorite coffee. "I can't believe you still make me bring your shit after my shift," he complains. He hands Genevieve her cup. "Are we going out later or what? I have a day off tomorrow and I fucking intend to sleep in. Preferably with a girl and her D-cup sizes."

"SSH!" Genevieve hisses, hitting Chad's head with a storybook for aged 5. "There are kids in my establishment."

"It's almost closing time," Chad points out, rubbing his head. "Most of them are already at home, having dinner. Speaking of which, why aren't you making dinner, Jay?"

"You can do some cooking sometimes, you know," Jared tells him. He used to live with Sandy, but when she moved out, Chad had moved into the little apartment above the flower shop. "And no, I have to go through some papers later."

Chad turns to Genevieve. "Is he still complaining about the asshole who wants to get with his boss's wife?" he asks her.

Genevieve shrugs. "It's way past his moral boundaries."

"Hey!" Jared protests.

Chad glares at him. "Dude, what the hell are you thinking? You should _not_ be crushing on a guy who is probably scoring himself with some chick who is married to his boss. That's—that's major man of him, you know? He's setting an example for all of us."

"I don't know why you're my friend," Jared mourns.

"Look, he's clearly straight and is regularly banging the boss's wife behind his boss's back," Chad clarifies, and every word sends a stinging slap into Jared's heart. "What're your chances that you're gonna get some action with him?"

"Chad!" Genevieve sounds upset.

Jared pushes his cup away. "No, you're right," he says angrily, looking down on the counter. "I really want this business to push through, you know, but I can't agree to that if I know my morals are gonna suffer."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Genevieve asks, concerned. "It's what you and Sandy always talked about, getting a chance to expand the business. I've researched the company and they might just be starting out, but it really sounds like they can come a long way, Jay. It can really help you."

Jared shakes his head. "I know. Jensen's told me about the company but...well, you know it's bad form to get into a business agreement just because the guy selling it to you is hot, right?"

Genevieve grins. "Oh, I don't know. My encyclopedia collection begs to differ."

"You own a bookshop, it's totally valid," Jared retorts.

Genevieve's eyes go glassy. "Yeah, but so was going down on that encyclopedia salesguy."

"Eww," Chad declares. "Any talk about your sex life—or _yours—_ " He points at Jared. "—is completely false and figment of your imagination. I don't like hearing about it. I don't want stories about it. I don't want details. Also, Gen? The encyclopedia guy came by our apartment as well, and he propositioned _me."_ He sounds scandalized.

"Sounds hot," Genevieve teased, but she looks at Jared again in concern. "Listen, just _think_ about it, okay? I know you like hanging on to your principles, but you might be jumping to conclusions. You don't even know much about this guy, other than he's hot, he tolerates your running monologues, and...and..."

"He likes dogs," Jared supplies.

"That's adorable, Jay," Chad deadpans. "Really. Can we go? You seriously talk more about this and I'll have to paint my nails and wear make-up. I've done it for an ex and it seriously sucks, trust me."

Jared and Genevieve laugh, and Genevieve pushes them both away. "Okay, get out of here, both of you. I'll meet you after I close up. Same place, yeah?"

"See you later, sweetcheeks!" Chad calls out, but he's already out the door and doesn't catch the finger Genevieve gives him.

Jared does, though, and it makes him laugh again.

* * *

They meet at the local bar after dinner, just a few blocks away. By the time Genevieve arrives, Chad has managed to finish three bottles and is chatting with one of the college students who's home for the break. Jared waves her over, then doubles at the sight of the group of people who entered behind her.

"Is Chad drunk _already?"_ Genevieve asks when she gets to their table, then she pauses. "Jared? What's wrong?"

"Jensen's here!" Jared hisses. "He was right behind you and...oh fuck, he's coming this way!" He digs his elbow into Chad's side, eliciting a yelp.

"What the fuck, man, that girl had a D-cup!" Chad yells at him. "You remember what I said earlier when—"

"Shut _up,"_ Jared prays, then plasters on a big, shiny smile for Jensen Ackles, who is looking adorably confused and...without his eyeglasses. "Hey, Jensen! What a surprise!" Jesus, Jared doesn't know how, but now that Jensen doesn't have glasses, he looks more like a fucking pornstar. Who's getting ready for some actual fucking. There are _freckles_ smattered all of his cheeks, _Jesus._ Jared clears his throat and stares at Jensen's neck. "How are ya?"

Jensen's gaze flickers to Genevieve, then to Chad with some uncertainty, but there's still a smile on his face. "I'm good," he says, speaking loudly over the music. "I just came with...my friends recommended this place and I was going to..." He looks at Genevieve again, and Jared takes this opportunity to be kind.

"Hey, so this is Genevieve," he introduces. "And this guy— _this_ one is Chad. This is Jensen." He tries not to put an emphasis on the name, but he notices how Genevieve perks up when she shakes Jensen's hand. "We're waiting for some of our other friends, but you're welcome to join us. Jared told us a lot about you. And your business."

Jared glares at her while Jensen laughs, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh, I actually came with some of my friends," he says, "but maybe I'll—"

"Jenny!" someone bellows over the pounding bass and then someone collides into Jensen from behind, almost sending him sprawling into Jared's lap. "Oh, sorry about that—"

"Whoa, that was awesome, dude," Chad exclaims. He's obviously forgotten about Jared's cockblock. "Wait, _you're_ Jensen, aren't you the—"

"Hi," Jared puts in loudly, standing up and offering his hand to the guy who is apparently Jensen's friend. "I'm Jared."

"This is Jared," Jensen says in a resigned tone. "Jared, Genevieve, Chad. This is Steve."

"Howdy," Steve greets, a devious smile on his face—dammit, Jared kind of regrets bringing Chad along and meeting this guy. But he's also distracted by Steve's arm that's still around Jensen's shoulders. And by the fact that he just called Jensen _'Jenny'._ "Jared...Padalecki, right? The florist?"

"Right." Jared looks at Jensen.

Jensen smiles tightly, then tells Genevieve and Chad, "Is it okay if I bring Jared for a while, meet some of my buddies? They're people I work with and—"

"Yeah, go," Genevieve tells Jared, pushing him to Jensen. "I see Aldis and Alona at the door, anyway." She gives Jared one of her _looks,_ and Jared rolls his eyes at her.

Steve immediately slaps Jared's back. He's smaller, but he gets a solid _thump_ that makes Jared want to hack his lungs out. "Hey, so we're really hoping you get on board with this plan," he says. "Jensen's been talking non-stop about you and—"

"I haven't," Jensen interrupts, squeezing between Jared and Steve like a fucking ninja. Jared has a moment lapse of judgment when he stumbles at Jensen's side, breathing in the man's cologne. How high schoolish can Jared get? "Don't let the look fool you. He looks like a druggy, Steve's in charge of accounting. He's scarily good at it."

"Always loved numbers." Steve waggles his eyebrows. "Jenny's always had a love for business, loves interaction. All the talking and the collaborating, he's like, our company model or muse or something."

"Steve!" Jensen looks embarrassed.

Steve only laughs again. "Don't look so shocked."

"I'm surprised," Jared admits. "I always thought Jensen was they shy type."

The blush on Jensen's cheek only strengthens his statement, but Steve explains, "Jensen does most of negotiation—he talks to clients, asks them what they want and what they need, those kinds of things. He's really good at it, too." He doesn't sound like he's buttering Jared up for a business talk—he actually sounds like he's proud of Jensen.

Jensen brushes the compliment away and introduces Jared to his group. "You've met Steve. Tom and Jessica, who are crazy with visuals and designs. Michael and Mike—" A tall guy in glasses and a bald dude raise their beer at them. "—work under Tom and Jessica. It's a good thing they work together because then we'll have a problem with their names. AJ and Rob, and here's Malik, one of our hired caterer. He has his own catering business, though, so he's not fully in partner with our company."

Jared grins, shakes Malik's hand. "Hey, man," Malik greets. "You're the florist who's gonna take over Joanna's job for us?"

"Still looking into it—" Jared starts.

"Don't pressure him, Malik!" Jensen admonishes. He nudges Jared, and tugs Jared slightly to tell him directly to his ear, "Malik is friends with our boss, so he came in earlier." His breath tingles over Jared's ear, making him shiver slightly. When Jensen pulls away, he points to a guy sitting in one corner but who's stood up, reaching out to Jared. "Um, Jared, this is Misha Collins. The company manager."

 _Jensen's boss,_ Jared realizes. "Hey," he greets, grabbing the offered hand. "I'm Jared Padalecki."

"Jensen's told us a lot about you," Misha says, winking at Jensen. "I saw your work for Jeff's and Katherine's wedding. It was great, and Jensen didn't have to talk me into asking you to join us."

Jared laughs. "That was ridiculously simple. The bride had a good eye for visuals, and I just added some things along."

"Which is a good thing, because Jeff knows absolutely squat about flowers," Misha assures him. "Hey, if you decide to work for us, can we get a free flower clause for when we get into trouble?"

"Flowers don't do anything for apologies, you know," a sultry voice puts in from Jensen's side, and a stunning redhead walks directly to Misha and sits on his lap. Jared stares with wide eyes at this gorgeous woman. "I'm Danneel."

"My wife," Misha clarifies, his arm around Danneel's tiny waist. He grins, apparently noticing how Jared's jaw has dropped. "I know. I get that reaction a lot. Eyes off, she's mine."

Danneel bites his ear, then winks at Jared. "Or, you know, I like to share my guy." Jared blanches, but before he can respond, she puts in, "Hey, aren't you the flower shop guy?"

"Everyone keeps calling him that," Jensen complains, even though no one has done it yet in front of Jared. Jared sneaks a look at him, and notices how at ease Jensen seems to be despite the love of his life sitting on her husband's lap; there aren't any visible signs of jealousy and heartache. "Are we still talking about work or are we here to drink? Jared doesn't want to hear about our lame clients—not while he's still thinking about it."

"It'll definitely help business," Malik puts in, then holds up his hands when Jensen glares at him. "Just sayin', lighten up Jensen, geez."

"Beer, Jared?" Danneel offers, smiling.

Jared shakes his head. "Nah, but thanks," he tells them, holding up his ands. "I've got friends waiting for me—over there—" He points, sees that Aldis and Alona have already joined Genevieve and Chad.

Rob looks excited. "Hey, isn't that the owner of the Rock and Read Bookshop? That's so cool, I go to that shop, like, every weekend! The owner's amazing!"

"Yeah, she is," Jared says fondly, and he catches how Jensen keeps staring at him with a tiny frown on his face. "Okay, nice meeting you guys. Jensen, I'll call you later—"

Steve gives a whistle. "Fucking _finally,"_ he whoops, but falls forward when Jensen thwaps him again on the head.

Jared laughs. It's strangely fun to see how supportive the people are of each other's achievements. "I'll call you later, Jensen." He shakes everyone's hand again, noticing how Danneel has a strong grip on his hand and how Misha's thumb brushes against his palm. He pulls away quickly, a little freaked. "Nice meeting you guys!"

"Let me buy you a drink before I let you go," Jensen yells at him, grabbing his wrist and leading him away from earshot and somewhere closer to the bar. The place is filling up extensively, but Jared doesn't mind having to walk real close to Jensen and almost leaning against him on the bar while they ordered.

"Sorry about that, they usually don't act like tools," Jensen says loudly, still near Jared's ear.

Jared accepts the beer he offers and notices that Jensen still hasn't let go of his wrist. He shakes his head. "Nah, they were cool. You've been friends long?"

"Steve, Danneel, and I met in college, but the rest of us—except Malik, AJ, Danneel, and Jessica—worked in the same company for years," Jensen explains. "We were all on our way to becoming corporate douchebags, then Misha said, fuck it, and walked out. He started his events company with Jessica, and then Tom got on board, and then we all slowly joined the team. Now, here we all are!" He grins, as if it's the best thing that's ever happened to him. Jared doesn't doubt that.

Jared nods, thinks about how easily Danneel flirts with her own husband under Jensen's nose. "Danneel wasn't in the company with you?" he asks.

Jensen shrugs. "Nah. She works as a legal aide and a professor at the local college. She and Steve dated for a while back in college, but Steve's the one who introduced them a few years back. They've been inseparable ever since." There's a fond smile on his lips, and Jared feels his stomach churning at the conclusion.

Jensen must have been in love with Danneel for a long time, but since she dated Steve—obviously Jensen's best friend—then it's likely that he never thought to make any moves...until now. Jared wonders if Misha's aware of the possibility, one of his friends in love with his wife. Still, it seems weird that Jensen doesn't seem to be sending any pining looks over at Danneel. Or maybe he's just too good at hiding it.

Jared plasters on a smile and says, "It must be nice, working with a bunch of friends."

Jensen laughs. "Yeah, it can be. We were just so tired of being drones during the day, you know. I mean, I never thought I'd actually be in an events management company. It's still small, but Misha's doing such a good job managing it, plus Tom and Jessica are creative geniuses. We're hoping we can expand so we can accommodate interns, give Michael and Mike some room to grow, you know." He stops, then looks sheepish. "Sorry, I have a tendency to ramble about—"

"Hey, man, you've listened to me do my monologues, so it's no big," Jared laughs.

"And I'm a fucking martyr for that," Jensen agrees, clinking his bottle with Jared's. "What's up with that, man? You seriously love talking."

"I know!" Jared groans. "Chad just tunes me out, but Genevieve and Alona—that's the blond girl over there with our other friend Aldis—they keep telling me I talk more than a girl. I mean, even my _lawyer_ told me that, Christ."

"It kind of messes with me," Jensen says, and he moves closer—Jared notices that someone jostles him from behind, but Jensen's not moving away—"'cause I've seen you while working and it...I don't know...messes with me how you listen so much to your clients." He ducks his head, looks embarrassed. "Um...sorry, that was kind of overstepping..."

"No, you're not, don't worry," Jared quickly assures him. He wants to reach out and tilt Jensen's head so their gazes can meet, but he clears his throat instead and takes a long of his beer. "Um. Yeah, I've always liked meeting new people and talking to them, finding out what they like."

"How'd you get into the flower business?" Jensen asks.

Jared grins, remembering his college days. "Oh god, it's such a stupid thing, and Chad still makes fun of me for it. Okay, I was in high school and there was this flower shop in our town...and there was a guy there, you know, cute college guy types? I kept hanging around and tried to talk to him, and he kept giving me flowers. Apparently it was some sort of secret code and I kept trying to decode it. It took me a week to finally get around giving him my first flower, and it kind of...well, turned into something more..." He trails off when he notices how Jensen's chugging down his beer, not meeting his eyes, before he realizes what he just said. He clears his throat again. "Uh, yeah. So I'm gay."

Jensen puts down his empty bottle and gives him a weak smile. "Good to know," he croaks out, signals to the bartender for another beer.

Jared peels at the label on his beer, waits for a moment before he says in a tight voice, "Okay, I know it might be an issue—"

"It's not!" Jensen quickly puts in, then puts a hand on Jared's to silence him when he opens him mouth in protest. "It's really not. Jared, I've dated a few guys myself. Hell, I even dated Misha."

Jared's eyes widen. Holy _shit,_ this is prime soap opera story. "And Danneel...?" he asks.

Jensen shrugs. "She thinks it's hot."

"Holy shit," Jared says, gulps down his beer in one go. He's still reeling with the idea of Jensen being in love with Danneel but used to date Misha who's now married to Danneel and _holy shit._ He laughs at the thought, then continues with his story, "Anyway we broke up a few months after that—my first boyfriend, I mean—but I thought it was kinda cool, having a secret language I can share with only a few people. I've always enjoyed doing the gardening, plus people thought it was sexy. I never really thought of it as a career until I met Sandy, my best friend who was also a florist. We opened this flower shop while earning our MBA, and we never looked back—until she decided to get married in fucking LA." He pulls a sad face, which only makes Jensen grin back.

"Yeah, poor you, stuck here doing something you actually _like,"_ Jensen tells him sarcastically, and he looks totally insincere and cute, and Jared just wants to lean in right now, kiss him right at the corner of his lips to lick at the traces of beer—

Then a hand on Jensen's shoulder cuts through his thought, and Jared blinks, realizing that Danneel is leaning into Jensen, smiling down at both of them. "You two look like you're having your own party here," she laughs.

Jensen smiles. "Just getting to know Jared more," he tells Danneel, and Jared doesn't miss the flash of warning in his eyes when he looks at her.

Danneel doesn't seem to notice. "Well, we're taking off. Chris's performance is starting in half an hour, and we can get good seats if we leave now." She turns to Jared. "You're welcome to join us, of course. Chris is one of our friends, and he's performing in another bar."

"I told you we should've gone straight there," Jensen grumbles.

"But if we didn't, then we wouldn't have met Jared, right?" Danneel points out, giving Jared a friendly punch on the arm.

Jared gives her a weak grin, raises his bottle to his lips. "Yeah, lucky me," he mutters.

"You up for it, man?" Jensen looks at him, and Jared can just be imagining it but there seems to be more than hesitation in his look.

Jared gives him a weak smile and nods at the general direction of his friends. "Um, I'd better not, sorry," he says. "I haven't seen Aldis for a long time now and I have a gala to work on tomorrow."

Danneel nods, and Jared's surprised when she leans down to kiss him on the cheek. "Nice meeting you. Even if you end up not signing in with the company, you'd better track us down for some drinks or night out, okay?" She smiles and enthusiastically bounces back to the group and into Misha's arms.

It might be just Jared, but he thinks Jensen is taking his time getting up and paying for his tab, no matter what Jared insists. "I'm just glad you haven't run off screaming," Jensen tells him with a chuckle. "Just so you know, I was planning on bringing you to the office sometime next week so you can judge them for yourself."

"They seem really nice," Jared offers.

Jensen smiles, then visibly hesitates. He moves closer to Jared, almost standing between Jared's legs, and he has to lean forward to say, "I'm really sorry. Chris is one of our friends since college, and he's in town for only a few days. I really have to go with him, otherwise—"

Jared has to tear away from Jensen's intense gaze. He doesn't know if Jensen is trying to look for something in his expression, but he's also afraid if he's showing something completely uncalled for. "It's okay," Jared says, his voice unnaturally raspy in response to Jensen's proximity. "Just...I'll call you okay? Soon."

He wonders if the shiver that goes through Jensen's body has something to do with the way Jared's hands are travelling over his arms. Jensen smiles lazily at him. "Yeah," he breathes, and Jared has to lean closer to hear him over the music. "I'll wait."

Then, strangely, he leans forward—all the fucking way—and presses his lips on Jared's cheek in a very chaste kiss before he smiles and takes off after his group.

Jared doesn't know how long he sits on the stool, gaping at the direction where Jensen disappeared to. But by the time he snaps out of his stupor, Genevieve is standing next to him, poking Jared's side.

"You had _better_ tell us what the hell is going on," she demands.

* * *

The next day, Jared's inbox holds a letter from Kripke, with a very short message that consisted of, _"Agreement looks good, and their team agreed to the percentage share. As your lawyer, I advise you to start thinking in bigger terms and HIRE AN ASSISTANT. As your friend, I advise you to HIRE AN ASSISTANT. STOP DOING THINGS YOURSELF. Attached is the document for signing. Fax to their team w/ copy to me ASAP. –Eric._

Jared reads through the contract and finds it satisfactory. By the time he opens shop for the day, Harley and Sadie are sitting at his feet, looking up gamely whenever a customer enters, then promptly going back to sleep when they're not interesting. Jared finishes the arrangement for the gala and loads them into the delivery van by lunchtime. He discusses the potential of upping some of his in-demand flowers with other growers, and they promise to hook him up with local and cheaper wholesalers.

By late afternoon, he's finished faxing the documents to Jensen's company. It's only ten minutes later when the phone rings. He picks it up and finds that he's not at all surprised to hear that it's Jensen.

"This is the part where I welcome you onboard, but I feel compelled to make sure if you really know what you're getting into," Jensen tells him teasingly. "Especially after meeting the crew yesterday."

Jared grins, then feels silly for smiling so wide even though Jensen's not gonna see it over the phone. "I dunno, someone did a pretty good job convincing me," he says, holding his phone under his ear and fixing the dandelions on display. "So you know, good job."

Jensen laughs. "Seriously, Jared, I'm glad you signed in. I can't wait to work with you. I mean...we _all_ can't wait and..." He trails off, and Jared can actually see Jensen blushing and looking flustered.

Jared cuts in, "The work won't start coming until next week, effective Monday, right?"

Jensen eagerly grabs the subtle subject change. "Yeah, and the clients are required to give full decisions at least three days before the event, just so you won't get any cases of having to ship exotic flowers from some tropical country."

Jared thinks about some of the screaming idiots he's encountered throughout his job and shudders. "Yeah, hopefully I don't have to go through that again."

There's a pause in the conversation, then Jensen says brightly, "Hey, you know what, we should celebrate! I'm just getting ready to get out of the office. You want to grab some dinner?"

"Um," Jared hesitates. "I was going to take my dogs out for a walk and eat on the way. Maybe we can—"

"Hey, bring them along!" Jensen invites. "Sadie and Harley, right? We can bring them over to the docks so they can play, then eat at one of the restaurants. I know at least one great one there that should allow kids."

 _Kids,_ Jared thinks, his heart feeling warmed over. He has to stop for a moment, wondering what the hell is going on, when he finds himself agreeing. He tells Jensen he'll pick him up because his truck is more suitable for two travelling dogs, so he gets the address of Jensen's apartment, promising to be by in two hours or so. When he puts down the phone, he finishes taking out the trash and does the bookkeeping for the day.

Out of whim, he plucks out some ranunculus on display, hesitates, then puts them back to grab some tiger lilies. He feels brash and out of place, and when he picks small white roses, jonquil, and some ferns—enough to accentuate but not overshadow the tiger lilies. Jared thinks that if he's going on a real date with Jensen, this is what he'd give him. It's daring and outright flirty. If Jensen can read flowers, he'll know exactly what Jared feels.

But what Jensen wants is to go out and celebrate with Jared over a company connection.

And Jensen is in love with Danneel.

Jared woodenly picks up Harley and Sadie's leashes, closes the shop, goes next door to freak the fuck out on Genevieve.

* * *

"I'm falling in love with Jensen Ackles," Jared announces to the entire bookshop.

Some of the customers stop their browsing and Genevieve stares at him for a moment, before she marches around the counter towards the shop door where he's standing, and promptly gives him a hug. Jared folds her into his arms while the dogs lumber around them. He doesn't understand how he can feel so fucking elated and miserable at the same time.

"What are you going to do about it?" Genevieve asks him softly, her voice muffled over his chest.

Jared loves her for not asking if he's sure. He sighs and rests his chin on her head. "I'm seeing him later, then I think I'm going to tell him. I just signed the contract, so I have another few months to test this out, but I have to tell him, right?"

"Is it a good idea?" Genevieve asks worriedly. "You might be getting some of your signals crossed, so—"

"He was the one who kissed me last night," Jared says doggedly, and at the pointed look Genevieve gives him, he sighs. "Okay, I know, it's not a real kiss, but what was I supposed to think?"

"I still honestly don't know," Genevieve tells him truthfully. "We were all just as surprised as you are. Honey, I just don't want you to end up getting hurt."

Jared shrugs. "I knew all along that he was in love with someone else," he tells her ruefully. "It's not like I went into this blindly. I just have to tell him that he can't expect me to jump when he tells me to, just because I'm working for them now."

"You're working _with_ them," Genevieve reminds him.

"Whatever," Jared returns, rolling his eyes, but his smile is returning. "I can't just keep it in, you know? Not and work with him for the next few months. If they like my services and I like the jobs they pass onto me, we'll see what else we can do by then."

Genevieve pulls back from his embrace and sighs. "I still don't know what to make of them," she says. "Danneel doesn't seem to be sending Jensen any secret signals—not any that I've noticed—but they _do_ look like they're pretty good friends. Maybe she doesn't like his attentions and she's ignoring them."

"Or maybe she doesn't feel the same way," Jared says harshly. Then he shakes his head. "Or maybe they're secretly in love and Misha knows and he doesn't care. Oh my god, what if he doesn't care. What if Jensen's not even attempting to hide it?"

Genevieve rolls her eyes. "Okay, before you freak out more than the usual, try this age-old solution: _talk to him."_

"We're not even close," Jared protests.

"He kissed you last night," Genevieve points out. "And you seem to be friends with his friends now, so you know, _bonus._ It's a way to clear the air and focus on the task at hand: which is managing your respective businesses."

Jared wants to kiss her, but settles for hugging her instead. Seriously, he's the one with the MBA, but Genevieve's decisions always make perfect sense when he spazzes over the stupidest things that probably sound worse than they actually are. "Thanks," he tells her quietly. "You're a great help."

Genevieve pats his back fondly. "I know, and that'll be one hundred fucking dollars you owe me for playing psychologist, you freak," she tells him warmly. "Now, get ready for your dinner."

* * *

The funny thing is, Jared knows it's still a company achievement, so at the very least, he expects Misha or one other member of the team going with them, which is why he makes sure the backseat of his truck is clean.

But when he picks Jensen up, Jensen only tells him to go to the docks. They put on their sandals and flip-flops and play catch with Harley. Sadie's content to let Jensen lead her once she's finished sniffing his entire arm, and they run around a few times, chasing a ball Jared brought until Sadie gets bored and sits to watch Harley play more catch. They jog by the beach, keeping a leisurely pace, then walk back to where they come from.

Jared keeps the conversation light, and Jensen goes along, keeping business out of the topic. They talk about Sadie and Harley, and Jared tells Jensen how he got both of them from the animal shelters in different times. He also talks about San Antonio, the city where he came from, and Jensen gives a surprised snort, explains with a grin, "I'm from Dallas."

They laugh, then swap childhood stories about growing up in Texas, although Jared teases Jensen for losing most of his accent to the coast wind. Jensen returns this with a husky growl about making Jared pay for their beer later, which makes Jared hot and bothered in many ways that surprises him. He jogs ahead slightly, aware of the half-hard press of his dick inside his pants, ignoring the way Jensen attempts to keep up with him despite the dogs trying to run between their feet.

Jensen points out the restaurant he was talking about, and they sit outside with Sadie and Harley at their feet. The restaurant gives them kibbles for the dog, but they have some nice treats for both of them as well. Sadie treats her meal with some caution, sniffing a lot before starting to eat; Harley, in the meantime, sets into devouring his food immediately.

Jensen orders wine with their dinner, insists that the company's paying for the wine while Jensen's springing for the food. Jared rolls his eyes, then insists that he pays the bill this time. "You paid for the drinks last night," he reminded him, which makes Jensen blush.

Jared feels the phantom brush of Jensen's lips against his cheek and feels himself flush as well.

They spend the dinner mostly in silence, mostly because Jared has to concentrate on the delicious food, but after a while, he realizes that Jensen has stopped eating and is simply staring at him. "What?" he asks around a mouthful of barbeque.

Jensen's huffs a chuckle. "You just ate ice cream earlier. I can't believe you're eating all that!" he teases.

Jared grins. "I'm a growing boy, Ackles, so don't judge me. Anyway, I'm sharing the other plate with Sadie and Harley." He pretends to think about it. "You can have some, too, if you want. Just make sure Harley gets the juicy pieces."

"Ass," Jensen says fondly, shifting slowly on his chair.

Jared glances at his dogs and realizes that Sadie is resting her hand against Jensen's foot, and Jensen's trying not to jostle her so she won't move. Jared takes a big gulp of his wine, fighting the rush of affection that threatens to overcome him. Did he say he was falling in love with this guy?

 _God,_ Jared realizes. He's already _in love with him._

"Hey, so Malik is coming over to the office next week," Jensen tells him. "You mind coming at the same time? I want to show you how we manage the affairs, but I think Malik can address some of your concerns better, since he's in the same boat as you."

Jared nods, trying to relax a bit. He has to remember that this is still essentially a business meeting for Jensen, with only the bonus of spending it with someone who has the potential of being a friend. It's not an actual _date._ "Just give me the schedule," he tells him.

"Cool." Jensen grins. "Like I said, Malik's not our only caterer, though. We have at least four other partners, just so we can have a variety. Plus, the food business is pretty cut-throat."

"How'd you get into this job?" Jared wonders. "I mean, obviously you and Misha were...but it's obvious you're all friends so what made you join him?"

Jensen shrugs, but Jared sees how he smiles while remembering. "You know how you think in college, how you want to get rich but getting into a company feels like selling out?" Jared nods, and Jensen continues, "We all felt like that, but we still felt so trapped, you know? I was only working for two years and I already felt burnt out, drained. But it was a job, and I was just thankful I had one, especially with the recession." He smiles. "But Misha didn't feel that way."

"You mentioned that Misha's the one who walked first?" Jared prompts.

Jensen chuckles. "Yeah, he got tired of it. He used to be into all that New Age stuff when he was college—dated a girl who was into orgies, all that shit. One day, he just...I dunno... _snapped,_ I guess." He laughs. "When I said Misha walked out, he actually _walked out._ He was on his way to becoming one of the best advertisers in the company, and he was handling a brand of cellphone and TV. During a meeting, he just got up and left the room, out the building, back at..." Jensen stops, looks away. "We weren't already dating then, but we were friends, so I was worried. Steve was working as one of the accountants in Misha's projects, so I asked him to check up on Misha.

"A few weeks later, I learned that Misha was doing what we've been doing for our company: arranging parties for our company meetings. Tom quit a few weeks later to join him, and they got Jessica from an outside source. Steve quit, and before you know it, we were all following." Jensen shrugs. "It's not epic, but it's a start for us."

Jared thinks about how uncertain those times might have been, especially with the financial atmosphere during that time, then thinks about his own flower shop that he's owned for years now. He knows he might have done something similar, if he was in the same context. "Misha sounds like quite a leader," he muses softly.

Jensen laughs, "You have no idea! We keep telling him he'd better not get into the business of world domination. Danneel's the only one who keeps him in line."

 _Danneel._ Jared shakes his head at the mention of her name, a reminder of the person who stands between them. "You said Steve introduced them?"

"Danneel was in town for a lecture in the local college the time Misha walked," Jensen explains. "When Steve went to visit him, Danneel tagged along, and Misha was absolutely smitten. Danneel didn't like him at first—you know, too uncertain for her, too much in his own headspace. But, like you said, Misha's quite a leader, and he can talk like one, too. He and Danneel got into fantastic arguments, but you can see the love." He blushes, busies himself with his glass of wine and Jared sees how flustered Jensen becomes.

Jared's already finished eating, but suddenly he doesn't think the delicious food is sitting well in his stomach. He puts down his fork, gives Jensen a smile. "Let's get the bill," he says weakly, signaling a waitress.

They lead the dogs through the docks, watching the night swimmers and tourists and keeping a low conversation going. Finally, they make it to the car, and Jared asks if Jensen still wants to go to a bar. Jensen declines, saying he can't do two nights in a row.

On their way back, Harley's drool gets on the back of the passenger seat, which makes Jensen laugh but he opens the glove compartment for some wipes when he falls silent. Jared glances at him at the corner of his eyes, then feels his mouth tighten when Jensen pulls out a squished bouquet of tiger lilies and jonquils and white roses—the one Jared had worked on earlier. He wants to throw it out the window. "I—uh. I made that. Earlier. Thought you might..."

Jensen smiles at him. "You know," he says, "I used to think getting flowers on dates is lame, but I'll make an exception this time. Seeing as you're a florist and all."

Jared turns his head so quickly at the word _'date'_ that he almost swerves the car and risks snapping his neck. "Um...yeah," he says, laughing weakly. "Yeah, I kind of...it was a spur of..."

"Although, I don't know, don't you usually give flowers at the start of the date?" Jensen teases.

Jared parks in front of Jensen's apartment building, then turns to him. "Um..." He wants to keep his mouth shut, but he needs to make this clear because it still seems so unreal to him. He blurts out, "I just...are we really on a date?"

The smile on Jensen's face falls and he blinks. "Oh. We...we weren't? I was..." He starts to put the flowers on the dashboard, his movement stilted and jerky, but he thinks again and puts them on his lap. The silence descends upon them, broken only by Harley and Sadie's soft snores. "I'm sorry," Jensen says quickly. "I thought you were...I mean, last night, I was..."

"You're in love with Danneel!" Jared bursts out.

Jensen freezes, then he slowly turns to Jared. _"What?"_ he says emphatically.

It's all so strange in his mind, so Jared just tells him, "I was going to give you the...the flowers, but I didn't want to push you into a dare. Or...I just didn't want to take a leap."

"Of _what?"_

Jared swallows. "Falling in love with you," he whispers.

Jensen stares at him, then shakes his head. "You'd better start from the beginning because I really don't get what you're saying, Jared. You don't want to fall in love with me? I'm in love with _Danneel?_ Misha's _wife?"_ He's almost yelling the words and Jared's flinching at every one. When he stops, Jared can't think of a single word he can use to explain. Jensen takes a shaky breath, then says calmly, "Yeah, okay. Right, I'll just. Okay."

He gets out of the car before Jared can react, and flies into the building as Jared calls his name.

* * *

Jensen opens the door to his apartment a few hours later, still looking like earlier but now wearing his glasses. And he looks calmer.

Jared smiles sheepishly. "Uh, hi," he stammers, then thrusts another bunch of bouquet into Jensen's hands. It's haphazardly put together, red tulips (which are ridiculously expensive but—Jared hopes—will be worth it), and iris, decorated with ferns.

Jensen raises his eyebrow, the looks behind him. The wilted bouquet from earlier is sitting on the couch along with a half-finished glass of wine. "Jared," he sighs, "you can't just walk back here to—"

"I had to bring the dogs back to my place," Jared interrupts. He feels nervous energy coursing through his veins, making his shuffle his feet while Jensen glares at him. "Just let me explain, please, Jensen?" he pleads.

Jensen stares at him for a long minute before he finally sighs and steps back. "Yeah, okay, come on in."

Jared gives an internal sigh of relief. Jensen's apartment looks tidy, although the couch has a blanket along with Jared's favorite flowers. A laptop is open, and a book sits open face-down beside it. Jared peeks, feels his heart thumping louder when he realizes it's a book about the meaning of flowers. He turns to Jensen quickly. "You were..."

"I'm having a hard time deciphering what you really meant with the flowers," Jensen tells him flatly. "I guess you'll have to explain it to me using plain, old-fashioned words."

"When we first met, I thought you were sleeping with Danneel," Jared blurts out. "You wanted a bunch of flowers for her, and I'm pretty much a good character when it comes to my customers, right? Only...I couldn't really _get you,_ so I had to base what I could do from what you'd tell me. And." He sighs. "Look, you talk about Danneel all the time, and last night, I saw you two exchanging these _looks—"_

"She's my _friend_ ," Jensen tells him, his voice clipped. "I told her how I met this really cool guy who owns a fucking _flower shop_ where I was buying apology flowers for Misha to give to _his wife Danneel_ when he almost ran over their _dog."_

Jared stops, feels his knees shaking. "Oh god," he says weakly. "Oh my god."

"Yeah, you idiot," Jensen tells him vehemently, holding his ground while Jared stalks over to him. "I was gonna go back a few days later with some excuse to buy flowers just to _see you,_ but I went to Katherine's wedding and she said that you—"

He stops when Jared kisses him.

Jensen only tries one more time to explain before he gives up and wraps his arms around Jared's neck, pulls him closer. Jared presses into him, tries to crowd his body over Jensen until Jensen falls back on the couch with an _oof!_ Jared follows him down, kneeling over Jensen until he's practically straddling him. Jensen tugs him back, throwing his glasses to some unknown corner before he closes the distance again, tilting his head and sealing his lips over Jared. They make out for a while, moaning at each touch, before Jared pulls back.

"Wait," he pants out, unable to help himself from staring at Jensen's shiny lips. "Wait, Jen, I was going to explain..."

Jensen kisses him again, breathes into his neck, "It was good enough for me."

Jared shudders, catches his lips again. He pushes his hands under Jensen's shirt, moans when the pads of his fingers skim over Jensen's stomach. He tries to pull off Jensen's shirt, only they end up tangled when Jared refuses to pull back from sucking Jensen's lower lip. Jensen laughs and pushes him back, grumbles, "Have to do everything myself, you giant freak."

Jared lands back on the couch, but watches as Jensen slowly pulls off his shirt, then toys with the edge of his jeans. Jensen smiles at him. "You gonna take yours off, Jared?"

"Depends," Jared returns. "You gonna keep losing your clothes."

Jensen's eyes darken. "Gonna make you lose more than that," he promises.

Jared groans, pulls Jensen back to lie on the couch. Clothes are removed in a hurry, and Jared practically manhandles Jensen over the pillows, grinding his dick down over Jensen's in a flurry of movement.

Jensen lets out a moan, throwing back his neck—and that's a pretty blatant invitation for Jared to suck, so he does. Latches on Jensen's skin and fucking _bites,_ loving the feel of Jensen's nails digging into his shoulders as Jensen surges his hips forward, locking his ankles around Jared's waist. Jared presses himself over Jensen, then pulls back a bit to take the time to _stare._

Jensen opens his eyes. "What's wrong?" he pants.

Jared shakes his head, raking his gaze over the man beneath him. Both bouquets from earlier that evening are crushed, petals from jonquils, tiger lilies, roses, and fucking _fern leaves_ are love over Jensen's body. There's an expensive tulip bud right under Jensen's shoulder, and it's almost the same shade as Jensen's flushed skin.

Jared closes his eyes. He can't fucking wait to bring Jensen at the back of his room, have him lie on flowers and thrush, to have him writhing over the petals while Jared blows him. The idea gives him a full-body shudder, makes him bear more weight over Jensen.

When Jared's hand wraps around their dicks, Jensen gives an actual howl and bites down on Jared's shoulder. Jared pants on his ear, "Yeah, Jen, gonna fucking _give it,"_ and gives one final tug that sends Jensen's orgasm pulsing a rushing beat over his, then taking Jared with him over the edge just as quick.

* * *

When Jared wakes up, he can hear Jensen murmuring into his cellphone. Jared only manages to catch the words, _"Misha isn't...can handle the...get more tomorrow..."_

Jared cracks open one eye, sees Jensen's form against the dawning morning. He's putting down the phone, then pushing back the covers, but Jared snakes out an arm to wrap around Jensen's waist. He hears Jensen snort, but he can also hear the fondness in his voice when he whispers, "I have to make breakfast."

"Too early," Jared mumbles, shifting closer so he can press his lips against Jensen's hip. "What was that?"

"Misha called to say he doesn't need me until this afternoon for a meeting, so I'll have all morning to get ready for that." He yawns.

"Come back to bed," Jared mumbles.

There's a moment of hesitation before Jensen murmurs, "Yeah," and he gets back into bed. As soon as he does, Jared wraps himself bodily around him, nibbling his throat. "Thought we're going back to sleep?"

"I'm actually usually awake at this hour," Jared explains. "I have two hours to do my morning jog with Harley and Sadie before I make breakfast then go over to the shop."

Jensen turns to him in concern, asking, "Who's gonna take care of them?"

"Don't worry, I dropped them off at Genevieve's. She'll give them their morning exercise." Jared shuffles closer and buries his face at the crook of Jensen's neck as he runs his hand over Jensen's chest. "She's glad to know you're not actually a douche. And you also have to know I need my daily morning exercise. You'll have to give me an alternative to jogging. It's really important."

"Ass," Jensen tells him, laughing. "I'll have you know I don't usually put out on the first date. Last night was just a fluke."

"Technically, it was our second," Jared points out. "And anyway, I know how easy you are when it comes to me, so I'll forgive you. Must've been hard to resist when I showed up last night with an apology."

Jensen presses a kiss on his temple. "Oh, it wasn't the apology that did it," he assures Jared, a devilish smile on his lips. "Trust me, it was the tulips."

**Author's Note:**

> Sources came from:
> 
> [Nora Creeach's Basic Florals](http://craftycollege.com/room/121/floral1a.htm)   
> [Kathlen Karlsen's Find a Flower: A Symbolism Guide](http://www.livingartsoriginals.com/infoflowersymbolism.htm)   
> [Flowers and Design by Ernest](http://www.designsbyernest.com/flowers.htm)   
> [The Language of Flowers](http://www.thegardener.btinternet.co.uk/flowerlanguage.html)
> 
>  **yellow carnations + hyacinths** \- rejection, apology - _"I'm sorry, dick."_  
>  **amaryllis + bluebells** \- pride + humility - _"I'm sorry, really."_  
>  **tiger lilies + white roses + jonquil** \- pride and a dare + secret love + a plea - _"I want you to love me."_  
>  **red tulips + iris** \- believe me! + sacrifice - _"Listen to me, this is going to hurt."_
> 
> I don't claim to be an expert when it comes to flower symbols, so don't believe everything I wrote, folks!


End file.
